One topic that we all love to talk about is Hollywood celebrities and love! Australian actresses have been a part of the entertainment industry for decades, and many have achieved international fame and recognition for their work. Some have also achieved certain fame for their romantic lives, with many making headlines for their relationships with other Hollywood stars.
That said, let’s explore the romantic lives of some of Australia’s famous actresses.
Movies and Romance are Going Online
The entertainment industry is rapidly changing. What was once a night out at the movie theater with popcorn and your partner has become a cozy movie date on your couch. As streaming services, such as Netflix and Hulu, become more popular, most films are being released directly on the streaming services.
In addition, the world of romance is also moving online, and Australian hookup sites along with various dating apps are becoming increasingly popular, as many Aussie singles use technology to meet new people. The result is that they can connect with potential partners in ways that were not possible before. Online dating platforms of today’s world offer a secure and lively space for making new connections, arranging hookups, and meeting like-minded singles fast and stress-free.
Four Hollywood Stars from Australia
Let’s jump to the juicy part and look at the four Aussie celebrities that make our Hollywood Wall of Fame.
Nicole Kidman
Who has not heard of Nicole Kidman? The Hollywood actress who became well-known after featuring on Far & Away and Dead Calm? Nicole Kidman has had relationships and hookups with several famous male celebrities during her career, including Tom Cruise, Keith Urban, and Lenny Kravitz. Since their marriage in 2006, Kidman and Urban have given birth to two daughters.
Nicole Kidman has a vast list of films and honors to her name that marks her career accomplishments. Among her numerous awards, such as the Grammys and the Emmys, she was also awarded a prestigious BAFTA Fellowship for her remarkable work in television and movies over three decades.
Cate Blanchette
Oscar-winning actress Cate Blanchette has starred in several blockbuster films, including The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Babel, and The Aviator. She is married to a distinguished fellow actor, Andrew Upton.
Andrew Upton, a screenwriter and filmmaker, has been Cate Blanchette’s husband since 1997. Blanchette has been busy with her profession while preserving a healthy relationship with Upton. In her career, Cate Blanchette has also accomplished many noteworthy accomplishments. She just won an award for her performance in Blue Jasmine, and she has collaborated with several of Hollywood’s biggest stars, including Robert Downey Jr, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Johnny Depp.
Margot Robbie
Robbie, a native of Queensland who has appeared in numerous films and TV shows, also has an intriguing personal life. She is best recognized for her work in The Wolf of Wall Street and Suicide Squad. Since 2016, Robbie has been the wife of British director Tom Ackerley. Up until the wedding, they kept their relationship a secret, and since then, they have done a good job of maintaining their privacy.
Robbie began her professional life in Australia, where she also won her first substantial role in the Neighbors soap opera. She subsequently went on to star in well-known films like The Wolf of Wall Street and Suicide Squad, confirming her status as an accomplished and talented performer in Hollywood. Margot Robbie is currently one of Australia’s most popular actors because of her parts in high-profile films like Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.
Naomi Watts
She is well-known for starring in successful movies like “The Ring,” “King Kong,” and “Mulholland Drive.” In her romantic life, numerous A-list celebrities, such as Heath Ledger and Liev Schreiber, have been romantically associated with Naomi Watts. However, Watts and Liev have been married for over ten years and are parents to two handsome boys.
Although Naomi Watts has been a Hollywood celebrity for many years, her big break came in 2001 with the suspenseful film “Mulholland Drive.” She has since won numerous honors and recognitions, including a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Actress in 2013. She is still a part of many notable movies today.
Whether it is Nicole Kidman’s much-publicized relationship with Tom Cruise, Margot Robbie’s under-the-radar marriage, Kate Blanchette’s long-term commitment to a more traditional relationship, or Naomi Watts’ recent romantic life; these four Aussie actresses share a connection to love and romance.
Conclusion
Overall, Australian actresses have had romantic lives that are just as interesting as their professional lives. From high-profile relationships to long-term marriages and their own families, these actresses have had plenty of chances to make headlines for their romantic lives. The fact that these Australian celebrities have reached such a level of fame and success while remaining grounded in their personal lives is a testament to the strength of the human spirit. No matter where you come from, there is always the potential for love and happiness.
Our friends at Toplitz Productions have given us 5 PS4 codes for Medieval Dynasty to give away.
Medieval Dynasty is a unique mix of life simulation, survival and strategy build-up game. Explore a huge and living open world, build up your village and lead your folks through the middle ages.
How to enter to win
We have five codes for Medieval Dynasty on Ps4 to give away, enter below:
The contest closes at midnight on 30th April 2022.
Please note that the codes are for UK and European PlayStation accounts – if you cannot redeem an EU code, please do not enter as you will not be able to exchange the code for something else.
Clash: Artifacts of Chaos is a strange title that uses multiple genre tropes. Moreover, it has colourful characters, a stunning fantasy plot, and some slick combat. However, its lack of guidance and secret ways are confusing and this tends to hold it back.
Developed by ACE Team and published by Nacon, this is a fantasy adventure title. What’s more, it uses soulslike mechanics and has a lore-rich story. Additionally, it has some testing combat and a range of fighting styles that can be changed at the touch of a button. Accordingly, there is some tactical nuance among the button-mashing ways.
That is a little eerie.
Clash: Artifacts of Chaos hides a stunning story.
As I’ve aged, my tastes have refined. Yet, one constant is the desire to be entertained by a phenomenal story. Luckily, Clash: Artifacts of Chaos delivers thanks to its dramatic and weird plot. On top of this, the strange fantasy land is full of weird and intriguing characters and monsters. Furthermore, the expansive world has some fascinating locations to explore, mean bosses to overcome, and plenty of moments of luck and fate.
You control the odd-looking Pseudo who lives in the strange land of Zenozoik. This weird chap is a master of martial arts and a lover of peace and quiet. However, his tranquillity and silence are broken when he meets a bird-like creature that needs protection. An evil entity known as Gemini stalks this weird animal. As such, it is your responsibility to protect it and thwart Gemini’s advances. Yet, this heroic act leaves you vulnerable, as a greater power is hidden under the surface.
An open world with limited guidance.
Soulslike games are renowned for their lack of guidance. However, Clash: Artifacts of Chaos takes it too far. Consequently, you spend much of your time negotiating strange arenas. Moreover, each mysterious path isn’t easy to find, and frustration soon creeps in. But if you can accept this time-consuming mechanic, you’ll enjoy a stunning and unusual environment brimming with oddities.
To muddy the water further, there is a day/night cycle that must be mastered. Pseudo changes its form depending on whether the sun is shining. Accordingly, during the day he is a weird yellow patchwork monstrosity. However, as the moon rises, his soft outer shell hardens and he can navigate different pathways. As such, walls of thorns will block your progress. Subsequently, you must enter the surreal nighttime world to hunt the Thorn Guardian and destroy these prickly obstacles.
This two-tiered approach added to the confusion while increasing the difficulty, as well. What’s more, nighttime is increasingly violent as everything wants to kill you. Therefore, you must be alert as Pseudo can be killed and your progress thwarted.
So beautiful!
Smooth combat and limited attributes.
The action opens with the choice of 3 combat styles. However, as you explore and find new items, your choices are improved. Depending on your gameplay style, you can adopt a rounded technique, focus on ranged combat, or get up close and personal. Moreover, you can twist each stance with a choice of weapons and armour that’ll change your stats and your tactics.
What was particularly enjoyable about the combat was when you linked multiple attacks. You can cancel the animation between strikes to allow for a smooth transition between combos. The outcome was a delicious and seamless flow of brutal strikes upon every foe. Furthermore, it supports the idea that Pseudo is a martial arts champion.
Where Clash: Artifacts of Chaos falls short is its painful levelling-up system. Sadly, the limited attributes and low XP make this a grinding drag. What’s more, with only 4 areas to focus on, it doesn’t feel unique or personal. Consequently, it is extremely dissatisfying, even though Pseudo is stronger, faster, and more agile.
A game of luck.
Though there are also some minor crafting elements and plenty of resources to find, these mechanics are understated and familiar. What wasn’t normal, though, was the game of luck that formed the backbone of most encounters! A dice game known as “The Ritual” must be performed against intelligent creatures and enemies. These consequence-based duels were interesting in theory, but badly weighted and, as a result, were unfair and annoying.
During each session, you must pick consequence artefacts from your ritual belt. These powerful tools will alter the value of the dice on the table or summon companions to a battle. Moreover, you can negatively impact your foe and improve your odds of success. Yet, rarely did I win one of these events, and the unfair results left a bad taste in my mouth. It was a shame, as in theory, this mechanic should have been brilliant. In reality, it was like fighting every battle blindfolded and with one hand tied behind your back.
Nighttime is fight time.
Clash: Artifacts of Chaos is beautifully insane.
As expected of the team behind Zeno Clash, Clash: Artifacts of Chaos is stunning to look at. In fact, it is insanely beautiful as it is set in the Zeno Clash world. However, this is an independent title so thankfully, no prior Clash experience is required. Played mainly from a third-person perspective, you can enjoy the vast and odd surrounding environment. Yet, once you fill your combat bar, your perspective shifts to first-person as Pseudo rage-smashes his opponents. This strange shift in vision was unusual, but it worked perfectly.
What was also great was the massive open world that changed depending on the day/night cycle. The winding paths and hidden secrets add to the mystery of the plot. Furthermore, the weird-looking protagonist, stunning colour palette, and strange foes ensure this is a game you won’t forget in a hurry.
The visuals are matched by incredible audio. The variety of tracks and the blend of emotions enhance the already incredible story. On top of this, the brilliant sound effects add drama and oomph to the strange eclectic action.
Seems a bit unfair.
A clumsy UI.
The control system is pretty good. Yet, the UI is clumsy, and this makes the action sluggish. Additionally, the combat can be overwhelming when never-ending waves of monsters attack. Yet, this wasn’t a surprise as Soulslike titles love to test your resolve throughout. Other than the UI issue, I adored the slick combat and the ability to alter your stance with ease. Furthermore, navigation was mostly trouble-free, and this improved an otherwise testing layer of the gameplay.
Clash: Artifacts of Chaos is a challenging game. Moreover, its cruel death mechanics and bonfire tropes increase the difficulty further still. But once you become familiar with its nuances, you’ll plug away at a fulfilling, albeit weird experience. Subsequently, if you can overcome the levels of frustration, you’ll endure an interesting and odd fantasy title.
Clash: Artifacts of Chaos won’t be everyone’s cup of tea.
This genre divides gamers. Consequently, Clash: Artifacts of Chaos won’t be for everyone. If you then consider the confusing exploration elements and the tough death mechanics, it is a punishing and relentless beast to tame. However, if you can jump through every hoop and master each element, you’ll enjoy a strange game with an exceptional plot and world. Accordingly, though it punished me, I recommend that you buy it here! Can you help the bird-like boy and save the day? Open new paths, fight many monsters, and prevent Gemini from fulfilling her destiny.
Here is our review of the Cherry UM 3.0 USB Streaming Microphone.
The high-quality workmanship of the CHERRY UM 3.0 makes it visually striking and is extremely stable thanks to its robust three-legged metal stand. Whether for video calls, streaming sessions or when gaming online – good communication is an all-important element. If you value professional sound and don’t want to rely on the built-in microphone in your laptop, headset or webcam, the CHERRY UM 3.0 streaming microphone is the perfect choice. A sampling rate of 96 KHz and 24 bit guarantees clear and detailed voice recordings.
The CHERRY UM 3.0 is the perfect podcast microphone for beginners. With its appealing look in matte black as well as its three-legged design stand made of solid metal, it not only looks good, but is also absolutely robust and can be set up securely at any time. The UM 3.0 is ideal for capturing voice recordings of one single person as it is equipped with a cardioid polar pattern, making this USB microphone an excellent choice to use for a podcast, for streaming, gaming or voiceover applications or when making MS Teams calls while working from home.
If the sound quality of the standard built-in microphone in your laptop, webcam or headset is not enough, the CHERRY UM 3.0 is the right choice. With the streaming microphone, you can professionally enhance the sound of your recordings and achieve clear and detailed audio. Furthermore, you don’t need any special prior knowledge to do this, nor do you need to have any extra software installed: The CHERRY UM 3.0 podcast microphone can be easily connected to a PC, Mac, PS4 or PS5 via Plug & Play using the USB cable included and is immediately ready for use.
Probably the most commonly used polar pattern in a microphone is cardioid, and this is also what is used in the UM 3.0. Sound is picked up from the front; any noises coming from behind and from the sides of the microphone are toned down accordingly or completely faded out. For this reason, you can achieve excellent results with the CHERRY UM 3.0 when recording the voice of a single person. This makes this microphone the perfect choice for participating in a video call, starting a streaming session or recording a podcast from your home office.
The CHERRY UM 3.0 delivers a high-quality podcast microphone with a USB-C port into your home and includes some very practical features. For one, there is the push-to-mute function, which allows the entry-level microphone to be muted with just a single touch when streaming, gaming, or in video calls. The red LED indicator on the top tells you that the mic has been muted. Furthermore, the headphone jack and the additional volume control (in the design of a CHERRY mouse wheel on the back of the mic) make sure that you can control the volume of your headphones at all times.
What’s in the Box?
The box contains the microphone and stand, cable and instructions.
A Closer Look
Pop Filter
You can also buy a Pop Filter to use with the Cherry UM.
The CHERRY UM POP FILTER was designed to meet the exact requirements of the CHERRY UM MIC SERIES (CHERRY UM 3.0, CHERRY UM 6.0 ADVANCED, CHERRY UM 9.0 PRO RGB) and can therefore be attached without any problem to any of the three microphones: Simply attach it between the microphone and the stand and tighten with the help of a small knob – and you’re ready to start recording. The sleek design does not detract from the elegant look of the microphone.
The CHERRY UM POP FILTER ensures clean recordings in professional quality and reduces annoying plosive sounds. In addition, the pop filter protects the microphone, keeping it in good working order for longer.
Final Thoughts
The Cherry UM 3.0 USB Streaming Microphone is fairly lightweight and is very easy to position to whatever you need in order to be able to use it comfortably.
To set it up, you just place the microphone onto the stand and screw it in place. You can then position the microphone itself and tighten it so that it stays in place. If you have got the Pop Filter then you can also add that, and it certainly helps the quality of the audio, especially if you are doing streaming or podcast recording.
The cable connects between the microphone and your computer and there is enough cable to position the microphone where you need it.
There is a mute button on the top of the microphone that makes it really easy to mute, or un-mute simply with a touch, and it lights up showing you the status too!
There is also a headphone jack on the microphone so that you can use your headphones at the same time.
There is a volume wheel on the rear of the microphone that makes it really easy to adjust too.
The audio quality is excellent – the microphone itself is equipped with a cardioid polar pattern which only captures the sound of the person sitting directly in front of it, blocking out all other sounds around. A sampling rate of 96 KHz and 24 bit guarantees clear and detailed voice recordings.
If you are looking for a high quality microphone to use for streaming, podcasting or even just Teams calls, they take a look at the Cherry UM 3.0 USB Streaming Microphone, you wont be disappointed.
The Cherry UM 3.0 USB Streaming Microphone is available now priced around £69.99 and the Pop Filter is priced around £16.99.
Here is a closer look at the Geomag Mechanics Gravity Recycled Combo Starter Set.
Mechanics is the construction platform that combines the forces of magnetism with a world of mechanical construction, to stimulate creativity, inventiveness and ingenuity. In addition to the classic magnetic rods and steel spheres, Geomag Mechanics adds mechanical elements within the constructions, expanding the play possibilities: some parts of the structures are able to rotate, triggering chain reactions from the magnetic attraction and repulsion. In 2018 the innovative Mechanics Gravity platform was launched, consisting of a series of incredible solutions that harness the forces of gravity and magnetism and set the Mechanics models in motion.
MECHANICAL ELEMENTS WITHIN THE CONSTRUCTIONS
CHAIN REACTIONS FROM THE MAGNETIC ATTRACTION
MAGNETIC CANNON
ELEVATOR
GRAVITY MOTOR
STEM LEARNING APPROACH
IMPROVES CONCENTRATION
The Geomag Mechanics 153 Piece Gravity Combo Starter Set (757) £39 from Amazon.co.uk is an ideal starter set to get children into Science. Aimed at children aged 8 and over.
As with other Geomag products, the Mechanics Gravity Recycled Loops & Turns Set is a lot of fun to play with and see what your child (or you) will come up with.
Disclosure: This product was provided free of charge in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.
Here is a closer look at the Geomag Mechanics Gravity Recycled Loops & Turns Set.
Mechanics is the construction platform that combines the forces of magnetism with a world of mechanical construction, to stimulate creativity, inventiveness and ingenuity. In addition to the classic magnetic rods and steel spheres, Geomag Mechanics adds mechanical elements within the constructions, expanding the play possibilities: some parts of the structures are able to rotate, triggering chain reactions from the magnetic attraction and repulsion. In 2018 the innovative Mechanics Gravity platform was launched, consisting of a series of incredible solutions that harness the forces of gravity and magnetism and set the Mechanics models in motion.
Playing with Geomag means knowing and mastering the invisible forces of nature. With the help of Geomag magnets, you will learn to use gravity to turn your own magical motor, running the spheres up and down the track, all built by you. Collect the Mechanics Gravity line and the laws of physics will have no more secrets for you!
MECHANICAL ELEMENTS WITHIN THE CONSTRUCTIONS
CHAIN REACTIONS FROM THE MAGNETIC ATTRACTION
MAGNETIC CANNON
ELEVATOR
GRAVITY MOTOR
STEM LEARNING APPROACH
IMPROVES CONCENTRATION
The Geomag Mechanics Gravity Recycled Loops & Turns Set is available from Amazon.co.uk now priced around £26.24. Aimed at children aged 8 and over.
As with other Geomag products, the Mechanics Gravity Recycled Loops & Turns Set is a lot of fun to play with and see what your child (or you) will come up with.
Disclosure: This product was provided free of charge in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.
Here is our review of the Nanoleaf Elements Wood Look Hexagons Starter Kit.
Nanoleaf Elements Hexagons Starter Kit come with everything you need to create your own unique lighting designs. Enjoy the sophisticated wood grain veneer while off, or turn them on to illuminate your space with a dynamic glow. Instal in your living room, bedroom, entryway, or any space where you want to add an elegant and organic feel to your home. Instal on any flat surface with included adhesive Mounting Tape; no additional tools required. Compatible with all Connect+ products like Shapes Triangles, Hexagons, and Mini Triangles.
What’s in the box?
The box contains 7 light panels, connectors, spare stickers, control panel and power supply.
A Closer Look
Final Thoughts
This range is the latest in Nanoleafs really cool sets for making you home or office really unique to you. This time the shapes have a wood look that really blends well.
Once you have decided on your overall shape, you put the hexagons together which are held firmly in place by the connectors. You then can stick the hexagons to the wall. There really isn’t that much else to that actual physical creation of your shape. Play around with your design on the floor before you put it on the wall as it’s just easier to change things.
You then use the Nanoleaf app to add the creation and control everything from there, including the ambient whites (previous Nanoleaf products allowed you to choose from millions of colours), how it reacts to music, and so much more. The possibilities are endless! There are also 11 curated scenes to choose from as well – they all bring something different and it’s worth checking them all out to see what works for you. And one of the great things is that you can easily choose another scene whenever you want, all at the touch of a button.
If you decide to change your line design after it’s been stuck to the wall, you are going to need to buy some more stickers – keep that in mind. They are really cheap though, so it might be worth getting some before you need them so as not to stifle your creativity.
The Nanoleaf Elements Wood Look Hexagons really do make your home or office stand out and are a lot of fun to set up. And the great thing is you can have them change colours and react differently whenever you want, all from the app too. They also look really good whether they are switched on or off!
If you want to create something unique and cool for your home or office, take a look at the Nanoleaf Elements range – you wont be disappointed.
The Nanoleaf Elements Wood Look Hexagons Smarter Kit is available now priced around £159.99.
Here is our review of the Seagate Lightsaber Collection Special Edition FireCuda PCIe Gen4 NVMe SSD.
Officially licensed by Lucasfilm, the special edition FireCuda NVMe SSD represents the famed characters with three iconic Lightsaber designs built on swappable heatsink faceplates so gamers can choose a design inspired by the Jedi or Sith that fits their collection at any moment. The drive includes customisable RGB LED lighting that shines through the faceplate to bring a galaxy of atmosphere to battle stations. The unique loading mechanism that attaches the interchangeable faceplates to the SSD and the heatsink were engineered and developed by EKWB. The integrated passive heatsink minimizes thermal throttling and maintains peak performance for longer periods of time.
With up to 2TB of capacity and delivering sequential read speeds of up to 7300 MB/s, the drive enables gamers to harness the full power of PCIe Gen4 to dominate next-generation games and applications. Offering a high endurance rating of up to 2550 total bytes written (TBW), the special edition drive includes Seagate’s five-year limited warranty and three-years of Rescue Data Recovery Service so users have peace of mind as they choose their light side or dark side gaming destiny.
What’s in the box?
The box contains the drive, 3 different faceplates (Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi), instructions, cable and stickers.
A Closer Look
Final Thoughts
The Seagate Lightsaber Collection Special Edition FireCuda PCIe Gen4 NVMe SSD is small and light (not that you will be carrying it around) and is very easy to install.
What sets this particular SSD apart is that it is part of Star Wars Lightsaber Collection. There are three separate faceplates that come in the box – Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi. They are inspired by Star Wars: A New Hope.
The faceplates are easy to swap out, they just slide off and on. Each one lights up the colour of the chosen characters lightsaber, which is really cool!
The SSD itself has a custom heatsink which minimises thermal throttling and maintain peak performance for longer periods of time.
The SSD itself is very fast, adding this to your setup will really make a difference, whether its for gaming, photos, music or just storage.
Seagate also include their Rescue Services as part of the package – always useful if the worst happens, they may be able to help you get your files back.
If you are in the market for a high speed, cool SSD, and you are a Star Wars fan, then this one is definitely for you!
The Seagate Lightsaber Collection Special Edition FireCuda PCIe Gen4 NVMe SSD is available now priced around £159.90 for the 1TB version, and £239.90 for the 2TB version.
The deck-building genre is hit-and-miss. Consequently, when you find a great title, you can’t put it down. Alternatively, if you stumble across a stinker, it can be confusing, boring, and a downright turnoff. When I was given Iris and the Giant to review, I didn’t know what to expect. As such, I went into it with my eyes wide open and hoping for a rewarding time.
Developed by Goblinz Studio and published by Klabater, this is a deck-building game. What’s more, it has rogue-like elements, RPG moments, and a touching and melancholy story at its core. Therefore, it has its finger in many pies and had the potential to be confusing and overwhelming. However, a brilliant tutorial and drip-fed mechanics alleviate any fears while setting you up for a tough but enjoyable time.
Iris and the Giant is cruel but touching.
I’ve never viewed this genre as a sobering experience. However, Iris and the Giant tells a sombre tale of one girl’s inner demons. Subsequently, the tough subject matter may be hard to swallow for some gamers.
You are Iris, a young girl who enters a surreal world as she battles her inner turmoil! Her demons and thoughts manifest themselves as cruel monsters and hideous creatures. What’s more, these abominations are focused on killing Iris to prevent her from finding true peace. Yet, luckily, the young girl finds gifts, memories, and imaginary friends to strengthen her resolve and improve her fortunes. Consequently, with these things by her side, she has every chance of succeeding.
That is some army of creatures.
The story is brilliant, but the gameplay is better still.
The heartfelt story is ever-present, but the gameplay overshadows its brilliant plot. Thanks to the wonderful mechanics, and easy-to-understand ideas, this addictive title can be enjoyed by veterans and newcomers alike.
Iris is a delicate hero who must balance defence and attack carefully. Furthermore, if she runs out of Will (health) and cards, or is paralysed by Sorrow, her run ends and she doesn’t banish her demons.
Each level follows a similar pattern. A range of monsters lines up on a grid battlefield to fight you. Alongside them, there are rocky obstacles, treasure chests, memories, items, crystals, and much more. The aim of each stage is to carve a path to a set of stairs. If you make it there alive, you’ll jump to the next level. Moreover, this idea is repeated until you die, or reach the end.
If you die, and you will, you’ll unlock new cards and special bonuses to help you on the next playthrough. However, upsettingly, all other progress is wiped and here is where the evil rogue-like mechanics bite you in the arse.
Choices, choices!
Like its peers, Iris and the Giant has many cards to choose from. What’s more, there is an array of game-changing elements as well. Whether it is magical powers to impact a group of monsters, an axe to annihilate the first row of your enemies, or a bow to fire at will, they are all fantastic. Whatever one you pick will change how each round plays out. As such, you must be flexible with your style and react accordingly.
Alongside this, you’ll need a lot of luck to be successful. Moreover, there are rewards to collect for killing each demon. As such, the more monsters you slay, the more stars you earn. As you fill this meter, you may pick a special ability to make the gameplay harder, or yourself strong. On top of this, if you defeat a mega monster, you’ll improve your weapons, increase your health, or strengthen your shield or spells. Therefore, taking on the big bosses is worthwhile if you have the health or cards to spare.
Which imaginary friend will you pick?
Mix things up.
Though the gameplay loop is consistent, you can mix things up thanks to Iris’ memories and the bonus cards you receive en route. Alongside this, you’ll find imaginary friends to help you out as well. Each of these key items is imperative to your success, so making the most of them is essential.
As you progress, you find memory tiles. If you can collect these valuable assets, they will add a permanent buff to your hero. As such, this is necessary when you aim to reach the latter stages. Moreover, it enhances the tactical nuance and gives you plenty of new ideas to consider.
The bonus cards are a temporary boost and change depending on how successful you are on each run. Accordingly, the more demons you slay, and the harder the beasts you encounter, the more advanced cards you get. Therefore, in theory, the further you progress, the better the bonus and the easier it is to edge closer to the finish line.
Finally, your imaginary friends enhance your skills while serving as side quests. To find each one is a bit of an RNG scenario. However, unlocking each one is no mean feat! Whether you must get to a certain stage quickly, kill certain creatures, or reach a specific level, you’ll struggle repeatedly. Yet, it was this challenge that enhanced the gameplay while adding another layer of difficulty.
Iris and the Giant is beautifully simple and wonderful to look at.
This genre can be guilty of repetition and simple stage design. Alternatively, the developers can go crazy and create an OTT and overwhelming world with confusing UI. Thankfully, Iris and the Giant not only looks great, but the UI is perfect as well. The melancholy atmosphere is exposed in the short but cruel cinematic. What’s more, each character model is aggressive, nasty, and ugly. Furthermore, this is wonderfully juxtaposed with the heroine’s delicate and soft appearance. As such, this beautifully portrays the good vs evil element of the story.
The audio comprises distinct songs for each element of the gameplay. During the cinematic, there is limited music and a focus on words and silence set the scene. However, each battle blends aggressive tunes and simple sound effects to great effect.
I don’t fancy my chances against the big one.
Good controls with some minor flaws.
Iris and the Giant is a surprisingly straightforward affair. Furthermore, the more you experiment, the more tactical elements you’ll find. However, occasionally, it can be tough to select the right card! For unknown reasons, the game automatically cancels your selection if you go back to your cards. This minor issue wasn’t game-breaking, but it was irritating and it prevented the game from being immersive.
By including rogue-like elements, Iris and the Giant was dangerously moreish. Subsequently, once you got to grips with the basics and you began unlocking the special elements, it was both fascinating and fantastic to play. As such, it was an addictive game that was tough to put down.
Iris and the Giant was a pleasant surprise!
Iris and the Giant impressed me with its excellent, albeit hard-to-swallow story. Additionally, the blend of genres and side quests helps to keep you focused and entertained throughout. However, it can become repetitive, especially during the early stages. What’s more, the occasionally awkward controls were frustrating. Yet, it was still a pleasant surprise and I recommend that you buy it here! Can you banish the demons that haunt you? Fight, plan, and travel further as you banish your inner turmoil and seek peace.
Fancy playing a small, light-hearted, MOBA (Multiplayer Online Battle Arena) game without risking succumbing to the potential addiction that League of Legends or Defense of the Ancients brings? Then HEROish may be for you.
Released in December 2022 by Sunblink, HEROish incorporates the popular MOBA genre into a deck-building game, sprinkling in some fantasy elements and a dash of irreverent humour to taste.
HEROish is a simple game to play with enough challenge, usually only caused by endless waves of enemies, to keep things interesting. As the game starts, you are placed in the shoes of Flynn, a cross between Thor and Johnny Bravo. An invasion of evil-doers known as The Cursed soon sets the plot in motion as they make off with a scared relic (a guitar), resurrecting a long-vanquished demon known as Marduke. From there, hijinks, battles, and card-collecting ensue.
HEROish has 3 individual campaigns to explore, although the last two are unlocked by completing the story before. Each campaign can be completed with two distinct characters, each has unique play styles, powers, and minions to summon. Completing missions rewards experience and gold, powering up your protagonist and giving you the means to upgrade your cards. All in all, this pads things out enough that completing each campaign will likely take you somewhere between 6 and 9 hours.
The gameplay loop is satisfying, summoning various minions to fight the hoards of enemies trying to destroy your crystal (home base basically) works as a mechanic. Each level only really operates on one track, allowing you to move left or right. Attempts to add a third-dimension work in some cases (storming the battlements of a castle), but fall short in others (running up and down stairs on a farm for some reason).
The variety of cards is decent enough from the little I played although I could see this becoming stale over the course of a 20-hour playthrough (there’s online stuff). Cards are rewarded for levelling up your chosen hero, upon which you can mix these into your deck. Each costs a certain amount of mana to summon which replenishes over time. The trouble I found was the more interesting cards are all high-cost cards, which is a bad way to set up your deck, would I rather summon a gryphon rider or 3 pitchfork-wielding farmers? So the choice between fun and proper strategy starts.
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Each of the heroes feels unique enough in terms of their individual play style and all the classic bases are covered. We have Flynn the warrior, Vega the ranger and her wolf Ajax (best boy), Lavina the necromancer, Marduke the barbarian, Spiderbait the rat riding a raccoon (a common trope I’m sure we can all agree), and Bulvi the absolutely massive bear (also overdone, right?).
Graphically, the game is simple yet effective. Character models are cartoony but detailed, the world map actually looks like a map, and the particle effects are flashy. HEROish is never going to blow you away with it’s aesthetic but it doesn’t disappoint either.
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Online play keeps games like this afloat, but it seems like this isn’t a particular strength for HEROish. There are a variety of modes to try but it seems as though the player base just isn’t there. Hard to really sink your teeth into a multiplayer mode when there’s no one really playing it. Unfortunately, this means the game is substantially less likely to receive updates, new heroes, new cards, new game modes or even bug fixes. Hopefully this was just something I experienced as I think HEROish is a decent enough game that deserves a bigger following.
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So whilst I enjoyed my time with HEROish I can’t really say that I expect it to change anyone’s life, there are other games in the MOBA space that are far more worthy of your time and money. Not to say that HEROish is a waste of money, £8.50 on Steam isn’t much after all, but then I played it for free so what do I know?
I’ve always adored Sim City, Factorio, and other management simulation titles. However, the required commitment always puts me off. No matter how much I try, I always feel guilty about “wasting” so many hours of my life. Consequently, I never fully enjoy my experience, as it’s racked with guilt. Therefore, when I was offered a minimalist version of the genre, I couldn’t wait to jump in. Masterplan Tycoon scratches that management itch whilst removing the uncomfortable time sink element.
Developed by Bureau Bravin and published by Ravenage Games and Doyoyo Games, this is a simulation title. What’s more, there are some tactical nuances to consider and a large world to exploit. However, it excels thanks to its simplicity, refined graphics, and calm music. Subsequently, this is a wonderful casual title that can distract you from harder, more in-depth games.
So many stages in Felt production.
Masterplan Tycoon is a blank canvas.
Unlike other building simulation games, this title rarely asks you to complete quests or scenarios. Instead, Masterplan Tycoon is a blank canvas that demands to be scribbled on. As such, you are free to do as you wish. The aim of the game is simple; you must place buildings to create supply chains to support your thriving network. Furthermore, you must control water, stone, and wood as you expand from a rudimentary settlement. The more you evolve, the more complicated the chain becomes. Consequently, you’ll have to balance input and output to be successful.
The action opens with a simple tutorial that explains the fundamentals. From here, you’ll understand what is required as you place sawmills, farms, pumps, wells, and factories. On top of this, you are expected to place storage yards and connect each resource to complete your production chain. Alongside this, occasionally you are required to undertake simple missions. These basic affairs often require you to repeat the early principles of the game and this was somewhat disappointing. Unfortunately, what should have been challenging and refreshing became drab and mundane as the action stagnates instead of evolving.
Things heat up but the gameplay becomes easier!
As you progress, new buildings become available. This tiered approach was great as it made the UI easy to manage. Moreover, you knew where you stood with the more complicated aspects of the game. However, Masterplan Tycoon undermines its potential by forgetting the basics of the genre. For unknown reasons, materials are magically transported from one storage yard to another. Now, this was in keeping with the laid-back and minimalist approach, but it did make the game a bit too easy. Subsequently, planning the layout of your empire was much easier than it should have been.
This issue is repeated when you consider the maintenance aspect of each building. Depending on what type of structure you place, you’ll have to supply it with different goods. For example, a mill requires grain and water to produce bread. As such, you drag a supply chain directly from the source or a storage yard. So far, so good. However, each building also has a maintenance cost. This can be food, items, or water. Yet, you don’t have to physically supply these goods and somehow they magically arrive. This was disappointing, as it removes a layer of difficulty and leaves you wanting.
Great planning and a clean network.
Like the Ghostbusters, you cannot cross streams.
Though the supply elements were frustrating, I loved the placement and connection mechanics. Each resource building must be placed within the vicinity of its basic components. As such, a quarry needs to be near rocks, a well near water, and a farm near grain. Furthermore, if you place structures on top of your resources, they become permanently depleted. Accordingly, this can create supply issues and this adds a small layer of tactical nuance.
Alongside this, you must consider your supply lines. No matter how hard you try, you cannot push goods through mountains or other impassable objects. Moreover, like in Ghostbusters, you are not allowed to cross the supply stream. Consequently, this creates a wonderful nightmare whenever you are feeding storage areas or production buildings. This was a minor mechanic, but it made the game much harder and therefore much more enjoyable.
Masterplan Tycoon is a minimalistic experience.
Unlike its peers, Masterplan Tycoon focuses on a stripped-back approach. Subsequently, there are no vast buildings to admire, and no one cares if there is a park to play in. Instead, the world is viewed from above and every structure is a 2D-coloured shape. Think of a schematic diagram and you get the gist of what I mean. This rudimentary style won’t be for everyone, but I enjoyed its clean approach. Furthermore, clear labelling and highlighted text help to identify each structure and any issues with the supply chain. This was a great way to keep on top of everything and I applaud the developer for keeping things simple.
A casual game needs chilled-out audio. Thankfully, Masterplan Tycoon has a calm and pleasant soundtrack. Akin to lift music, the songs won’t set the world alight. However, they are non-offensive, effective, and set the scene perfectly.
A close-up of a production system.
Basic games = easy controls.
Though the developer has incorporated an excellent tutorial, I don’t think it was necessary. Thankfully, this is an easy title to master and you’ll understand what must be done almost immediately. Furthermore, it can be played on your Steam Deck. However, there are some minor issues and niggles along the way. Talking of niggles, I discovered a few annoying problems that couldn’t be ignored. Occasionally, the controls weren’t responsive, and this impacted the ability to place buildings. What’s more, you are free to change the speed of the game using the numbers on your keyboard. But for unknown reasons, you cannot pause it using this method, nor does the num lock keypad work either. Consequently, there are a few key binding issues that must be resolved. Other than this, it plays well and worked as expected.
If you fall for its charms, you’ll find this difficult to put down. With a large map to explore and several subsequent mission areas to develop, there is plenty to do. On top of this, there is scope for the content to expand and more missions to be added. Moreover, Bureau Bravin actively listens to its player base and updates are being rolled out regularly.
Masterplan Tycoon fills a gap in the genre.
This genre is renowned for taking over your life. As such, it was pleasant to play a game that was more casual. Additionally, the fine tactical layers and progressive tiers keep you coming back for more. Yes, I had issues with the maintenance and storage, but these problems should be patched out in the future. Accordingly, I enjoyed it and I recommend that you buy it here! Can you run a business empire? Think logically, plan your production line, and keep the resources rolling.
It’s not a surprise that VR is one of the biggest growing markets for gaming, productivity and entertainment. While it got off to a slow start, companies like PICO are setting the standard when it comes to affordability vs product quality and spec. If you don’t believe me, check out my review of their latest consumer headset, the PICO 4.
I sat down with Leland Hedges, the EMEA General Manager for PICO XR, to talk about the company, his path into VR, the VR landscape, and of course, my favourite headset, the PICO 4!
How did you get into VR, and what was your first experience in that world?
I have to go back more than ten years, so I was really lucky. I moved to the Bay Area because I’d visited there for work a couple of times and decided to live in Silicon Valley. I am a tech guy, and I’d applied for all kinds of jobs after grad school, and one of them was a PlayStation, but it was right in the middle of PS3. The company wasn’t hiring as things weren’t going great, but I got my foot in the door. It was either that or Zynga, and I kicked myself for a long time because Zynga financially probably would have been better!
I was at PlayStation for a long, long time in marketing, and I would work on new product initiatives, things like Vita, PlayStation Move. Then my boss turned to me in 2012 and said, ‘hey, we’re going over the building next door on the campus to the R&D lab. You’re you get to check something out. What do you think? I want to see what you think.’ It was the very first playable version of Morpheus, which became PSVR. It wasn’t even running on PlayStation hardware but on a PC. None of the controllers were mapped. I was using a PlayStation controller. So, I played with Morpheus, and around the same time, there was a Kickstarter for Oculus, and there were meetups all over the place.
So, I started going to all the meetups and just got super into VR. I was a big advocate of PlayStation going to them. The first time Palmer Luckey tried Morpheus, PSVR was at the Silicon Valley VR meet-up, and a couple of guys and I were like, we must go to this. And we sponsored a lot of early stuff around GDC and were there to announce the product. But anyway, PlayStation chose not to launch at the same time as HTC and Oculus. I was like, I have to get into VR and work in VR now. I had done almost ten years of PlayStation. So, I said, okay, I’m going to go and do my own content play in VR. I ran a VR content company for a while and then after that finished, unceremoniously, as you know, most start-ups don’t work. A bunch of people who had worked at PlayStation were now working at PICO, and some of them I hung out with. The guy who designed PSVR is the main designer at PICO, and he said, ‘you’re unemployed; it’s time for you to get back and do something. PICO is a hardware company; come and check it out’. So I joined PICO over five years ago and moved to Europe to open up the business here. We’ve now been able to expand outside of Asia following the ByteDance acquisition a year ago. So, I now run the consumer side of the business for PICO in Europe.
You say that the designer on PSVR is the same for PICO; when I first opened the PICO box, I couldn’t help but notice similar design language.
Yeah. I mean, there’s a lot of shared DNA. But we reference our experience at PlayStation when we think about things like community or when we talk about content, we think about how to build an ecosystem or a platform.
You can see that ethos through the PICO platform, which is about building an ecosystem and an all-encompassing environment, and it’s an outstanding experience for the user. So, you’re talking about how you’ve expanded now that the brand has moved out of Asia. What’s the outlook for PICO now that you’ve made that move? What’s the next step?
I mean, the key thing you saw with Calvin Harris. We’ve been running lots; for instance, we were the exclusive VR platform in China over the World Cup. We also showed some games in Japan, which are global events. We have a sister company with TikTok, which is also a big player in culture, music, and entertainment, so we are finding ways to broaden VR outside of gaming and create a very rich platform. We also want a very rich platform for gaming, and we have over 250 applications, over 200 of which are gaming. If you do the side-by-side with Oculus, 80% of the top-rated Oculus are either already on PICO or announced for PICO. Anything that isn’t exclusive, we’re actively in the process of negotiating, or we have it already.
Are you finding that more developers are now developing for Oculus and PICO?
Yeah, I think that developers realise that they should support multiple platforms. There was only one key platform for a long time. You can look at the launch Line-Up and the 30 games on PSVR; more than 50% of those are also on PICO. So, there is finally some healthy competition and good platforms for developers. You’ve got PICO, and you’ve got a handful of these other companies that we’ve talked about.
So, of course, the Calvin Harris event was huge. Are there any similar events you can talk about? Are these sorts of events something PICO wants to explore further?
In the same week as Calvin Harris, we had two other concerts. In the ten days around New Year, we had our J-Pop event, and that was not avatar. It was done in 360 capture. You go back and watch it in the PICO Video app. Then Of Room is another avatar-based music platform. They had a concert which was three artists and an hour-long show. We have more concerts planned, but we also have several other events, not just music. We’re also trying to do partnerships around sports and stand-up comedians. We’ll be announcing a lot of stuff in February and March. We generally only promote it a week or two in advance. For sure, there will be more J-Pop. There will be more from Wave. There’ll be stand-up. There’ll be sports. There might be partnerships with other types of entertainment properties that TikTok has partnerships with. You can watch your TikToks already in PICO Video. Every weekend we do live events that are much smaller, just individuals in their room doing beatbox or playing the guitar. The PICO Video app has more than 600 pieces of free content. We’re running weekly live events ranging from Calvin Harris at the top down to Karen, a lady with four people watching her livestream from her bedroom or kitchen.
That’s cool. You’re covering a broad spectrum and doing more diverse things with VR. What do you think is next on the VR landscape that people should be excited about beyond gaming?
I mean, I think we talked about in our announcement a couple of things that we haven’t touched on yet. The overall topic of wellness, mental health, and fitness. I have these four long years of doing VR in Enterprise. And one of the critical verticals there is medical, and VR is clinically proven to help treat things like phobias or help with pain management. It’s a promising technology for meditation and mindfulness. So, bringing some of those applications that started in a professional Enterprise space and working with them to figure out if they can launch consumer-oriented initiatives. Les Mills, for example, announced a new update to the application for new exercises. We will be showing some demos and prototypes at MWC. So, a fitness tracker, some more mixed reality stuff that we’re working on.
I was surprised how effective something like Les Mills was as an alternative to going to the gym as a form of cardio. It is fantastic that you can blend those worlds, a gaming device, with something that has other benefits like health, fitness, well-being, and mental health.
You just said world merging worlds, PICO Worlds. We have a closed beta in China. So, a social area. While it’s an area going through a bit of a flux, you have what happened to poor Altspace. Altspace was probably the first social environment I ever tried as a user. PICO Worlds will allow for environments for people to hang out that are persistent and fun.
With the recent wave of hardware announcements, we’ve seen, and rumours from companies like Apple looking to get into the VR market, with eye-watering costs, and I know you can’t speak to other platforms’ strategies, do you think that that this kind of upward trend is going to be prohibitive to making VR more accessible, especially currently where it’s still considered very much a niche thing?
I think I can say that our position in the market and how we chose to go after the market is not only exclusively about the consumer business, but our Enterprise products, and our targeting that sweet spot of price and performance. So, you know, even our PICO 4 Enterprise, our premium version of the PICO 4, is under €1,000. And then you look at the price points that other hardware targets for a consumer device, and it’s a lot. So yeah, we think the consumer price point we like is between €400 and €500. We also believe that offering these Enterprise devices at various prices is essential. Price is a key component of how people perceive technology and its value. So, for us, we are obviously a technology company, but a technology company that maintains a very strong cost and price ethic.
The PICO 4 is exceptional value for the hardware that’s inside. I wonder if you could talk about the development of PICO 4, the standout features people wouldn’t necessarily know from reading a review or doing their research.
Yeah, definitely! I will start with a totally nitpicky quality-of-life thing, but the controllers are a massive upgrade because they don’t occlude each other. The texture, grip, and button placements are great, and the weight is excellent. Also, there’s a specific compartment for your batteries that locks them into place, so your batteries don’t disconnect during intense gameplay. The controller is a well-thought-through, well-designed piece of hardware that solves some long-standing challenges. You can tell some people are entering the consumer market for the first time, and they’re sticking with the ring-on-top designs, which is kind of still the standard. But, once you get used to the PICO 4 controllers, I think you look at those older designs as outdated. Number two is obviously the pancake optics. We showed a prototype of pancake optics back at CES 2020. They were called PICO Glasses at the time. We’ve been working on pancake lenses for a long time to get the quality and price to manufacture them at scale. So that was a huge technological challenge we had to solve. And the market is in this transition phase where you have even new headsets that are still releasing with the older Fresnel lenses, and you have the high price point for the ones that do have pancake lenses. Then you have PCIO 4, sitting at this very attractive price point with this cutting-edge technology. That leads to every other design decision. You can shrink the total volume of the headset by about 30% and reduce the weight by 30%. You wear the headset, hold it on the strap, do the neutral weight thing, and it’s so well balanced. And obviously, the front of the headset is much smaller because of the pancake lenses. We’ve got one of the largest batteries on the market. The spatial audio is also great. It’s a really good headset, especially for the price.
I agree; the balance in the PICO 4 is phenomenal. Were those quality-of-life things like the way the strap works, the balance by putting the battery in the back and the pancake lenses high on the priority list?
We’re lucky to have been in the market since 2015, so this is not our first headset. We’ve made seven headsets, so we’ve made many design improvements because we’ve gone through the process of designing and releasing headsets. So you get better at it each time you make one. You look at the previous model, and you go, I wish we’d done things like the straps or the material choices or having the semi-rigid band looking that way.
One of the things I personally want to thank you for is magnets! The single best quality-of-life feature on a VR headset is the magnets. Because not only is it easy to swap things out, but as a glasses user, it’s so easy to attach prescription lens add-ons. What made you think to include magnets as it’s uncommon?
As you notice, once you realise you can do it, and it works reliably, and you know you must test, just because somebody else did it, and it looked cool doesn’t mean it will work. But in this case, I think we saw it in the past, and it was definitely included in the headset design from early on.
What do you hope to see in the VR landscape overall and for PICO in the next five years?
Five years is a long time, but there’s some obvious iterative design stuff with pancake lenses in the short run. Unfortunately, battery is not a tech that makes major improvements quickly, but the processing and the image and, therefore, the weight of it can continue to be refined and reduced. So, you’re going to get a little bit more power; you’re going to get a brighter, clearer display. Then if you go beyond one or two versions of the product into the murkier future, for the headsets that will be personal, you’re going to imagine taking them with you. They need some more permanent access to the Internet. And so there, I really hope that within the five-year horizon that you mentioned, we can do deals with operators to either make tethering between your phone and the headset work really well or even add some network technology to the headset.
Having persistent Internet as the devices get smaller as they start, I mean, I already carry this in my backpack, but the next phase is, how can you carry it or parts of it in your pocket? Or you wear it. So, I think in the short run, we are working with key technologies from the world of phones and silicon and PC, which are like the processors every year or to get better displays every year. Unfortunately, the battery doesn’t get better, so you’ll see more powerful devices with better image quality that are lighter. However, you’ll still be stuck with this 1-to-2-hour play session unless you want to do it at home, plugging it into a permanent power source.
You mentioned battery life. Do you think that is the biggest challenge faced in the VR landscape, or what other challenges do you think VR, and PICO specifically, will be looking at?
On the hardware side, I would say the battery is the most frustrating component because there isn’t something I can tell you like, hey, all batteries are going to move to this new lithium something, something, and they’re going to work ten times better. That’s not the main issue for VR, however. The main problem for VR comes back to what we discussed at the beginning, which is content and convincing the companies and people and entities that own real-world live events, and also people who are making interactive entertainment and people even who are making office productivity and all the different applications that exist on your PCs or your phones, on your TV—working with them to come up with the most authentic way of having that same experience but in an XR product.
We didn’t touch at all on AR. But if you’re in a stadium and wearing an AR product, how can you enhance that experience, for example? Or, if you’re watching a live event, what are some intrinsic advantages of the hardware? Hypothetically, you and all your friends could go down on the field or pick any seat to watch from. Or the same thing with a concert, like with the K-Pop concert we just had, if you wanted to, you could be in the front row, right? You have a fixed number of people who have that front-row seat. There shouldn’t be that in VR. There doesn’t need to be that limitation. Thousands, millions, and infinite numbers of people can attend these events from home and sit wherever they want.
On the content side, I also want to see some bigger game developers get back into VR. We did our partnership with Ubisoft to bring Just Dance, which is one of the most famous IPs in the traditional console space, to VR. Some examples of traditional IPs are coming to VR, but we want to hopefully accelerate that trend or help push that trend so that you can play franchises. I really like that we’re starting to see the number two or number three of VR titles because you can see that they’re building franchises. It’s a story, and it’s obviously good for the users to know that there is this ongoing investment.
Every so often comes along a game franchise that means so much to so many. Life is Strange is definitely one of them, and I was lucky enough to sit down with voice actor and Twitch star Katy Bentz to talk about Life Is Strange, voice acting and the wonderful world of Twitch.
So, I kind of fell into voice acting. I feel like everybody has a different story of how they got involved in voice acting, and there’s never a true path, you know? There’s not a recipe to follow. I moved out to Los Angeles back in 2016, and I was auditioning and submitting for a bunch of different acting projects. I happened to self-submit for Before The Storm, and I didn’t know it at the time; then I got an audition to go in for this video game, and I was telling my best friends, who are super into video games at the time, I was like, guys! I just got an audition for a video game. Then I got a callback for it, then I got cast in it, and I was like, this is so cool. I got cast in a video game, that sounds cool! At that time, I didn’t really play many video games. I wasn’t a Twitch streamer yet, so it was all very new and fresh, and it seemed, as I said, really cool. I was still doing a lot of different on-camera acting and commercial acting. Then I was asked to reprise my role, it just snowballed from there. I’m really grateful to have a lot of projects happening right now in the voiceover world, and that’s where I want to be. There’s a lot of projects coming out soon, so I’m excited about it.
What attracted you to that role the more you found out about the character?
Oh, my gosh. Well, I found out more and more about her as I reprised her in True Colors. And she’s such a down-to-earth, really connecting character for a lot of people. I feel like a lot of people can connect to her in some way because there’s so many things about her; it’s not just this one thing. I think that’s what I found special about her. And she’s just so fun to play. I feel like she has parts of me, and then there are parts of her that I aspire to be. I’ve just finished doing the audiobook for The Life is Strange Steph’s Story audiobook. Oh my gosh, there’s so much more about her. I cannot wait for people to learn about her.
How much did you get to influence the direction they went in with Steph, or was it all laid out for you?
They would already have the script written. So it was, you know, pretty laid out for me. But the thing with the writers at Deck Nine is that as they work with an actor more and more, they tend to write for that actor, and they tend to write for the strengths of that actor because they know how well the actor is going to perform a certain character or a certain scene. They’re really talented, and so as I kept coming back for Steph, it was like, oh, this is so easy. I can slip right into this character. The words on the paper were so easy to bring to life. A lot of the time, as actors, we get scripts that are just like, what is this? This is nothing you would ever say in real life. It doesn’t flow right. But with Deck Nine, the writing felt natural and what somebody would say in real life. But of course, if there was something that didn’t make sense to me or I didn’t think Steph would say this, or this is feeling weird for me to say they were so open and ready to hear.
You’ve played the Life is Strange Games, among many others, but what’s it like hearing yourself when you get to the cutscenes you’ve recorded; like the first time we met Steph in that awesome D&D game?
It was cool; I was fangirling over it! When I played Before the Storm for the first time, I was like, this is so cool! I’m in a video game, and I’m playing this character who’s interacting with my character. It was just this medium that I had never experienced before, and I didn’t really know was a possibility as an actor. It is just so cool to hear your voice in a game. I love it!
Steph Gingrich – Life is Strange
So how did recording the voiceover for a game, which is branching in its narrative with choices compare to something more linear like theatre or film?
It’s interesting. Especially when I did True Colors because you’d come in and it would be a couple of different scripts, and the script itself was so hard to read because you had to get used to it. You had to figure it out because it would be like, if this happens, then this happens and if that happens that it doesn’t happen, then this happens and it’s just – oh my gosh! And so constantly the performance director was having to make sure, for example, that what we were recording now was what happens if A and B don’t happen. So, he would make sure to always put us where we needed to be in our brain because it was so confusing. I don’t know how he followed it! It was difficult! Definitely very different from linear film or commercials or anything like that.
Was it kind of weird to be kind of recording dialogue in a happy tone and then have to record the same scene but then in a completely different tone based on what that interaction was?
No, not really for me, I’m able to jump into different emotions pretty quickly and jump back out of them quickly. It it’s kind of funny though, you’re doing a happy scene, and all of a sudden, you have to switch to do something completely sad and people on set are like, how does that person do that, are they okay?
What’s your favourite Steph moment?
I always say this, and I feel like it’s a copout because I always say it, but it’s so true. It’s the rooftop scene. I don’t know. She’s just so vulnerable. And, you know, she’s speaking to herself, and she’s also speaking to Alex, and she’s wanting Alex to think about her. I think it’s a vulnerable moment and a pretty scene. I love that scene. It was fun to record as well.
How, how did you feel then, when you got that call to say, come back for True Colors?
I believe it was like October of 2018, and I got an email, and I woke up the next morning; I read my email, and it asked me to reprise the role of Steph. I screamed in my bed. I called my mom. I was like, Yes, yes, I’m so excited! And then I had to keep it quiet for like two and a half years. It was wild.
How did you manage that?
It was so hard because I would do driving streams because I was driving during the pandemic to go and record. I went to Colorado so many times. I lied to my entire community and said that I was going to Kansas just so it didn’t look weird that I kept going towards where Colorado was. If they knew I was going to Colorado 20 times a year, they would know what was going on. So, I just lied to them. I just pretended the possibility of Steph ever coming back in a game was not going to happen because people were coming to my channel all the time and would be like, we want Steph in a new game. And I was like, yeah, me too!
So now, if you do any driving streams where you say you’re driving to Kansas, we know there’s another game.
My gosh. They literally give me shit all the time! Like I hear Kansas twice a month, you know, like I hear all the time.
What were your fondest memories from working on Before The Storm and then True Colors?
Being in a voiceover booth for Before The Storm as that was the first time I ever did that. I think that that was definitely very fun for me. Meeting the fandom, I think was awesome for me as well, just meeting all the fans of this game and seeing just how powerful this game is for a lot of people was really, really cool and humbling. Then from True Colors, just being on the set and being able to do performance capture was one of the coolest things ever. I can’t wait until I can do performance capture again. That was just such a unique opportunity.
And how weird is it as a performer to do that kind of performance capture?
I mean, for me, it was just fun. It was a comfy suit. I liked it. The one thing you have to get used to is just your helmet. You’ve got this thing, you know, extending out of your face. If you turn around, you might smack somebody, or you might smack a door. I’ve done that a couple of times! You know, it’s just like, oh, we’ve got to redo that again, or we bump heads with each other. So, it’s just about spatial awareness.
Life is Strange, as a franchise, has some really hard-hitting themes, running throughout with mental health and identity. How important do you think it is that more games touch upon these real-life subjects?
I think it’s definitely very, very, very important. And I love that the franchise has developed this pathway of these types of games. I feel like you’re seeing more and more of that come out. I think video games are so much more hard-hitting, and they’re able to connect with people more because you’re playing the game. You’re literally within the world. We can watch a movie, and we can watch TV, and escape. If we’re talking in terms of escapism, video games are the number one thing to escape into because you literally are playing a character, you’re becoming this character, and you’re in the world around them. You’re connecting with their friends. The people that they connect with. And so it just makes the themes of the story much more real for people. It helps them like it’s insane to see how many people have been helped by the Life Is Strange franchise. I mean, I see it every single day. It’s incredible. Somebody feels represented and is able to see themselves in a game and is able to experience something, maybe they can’t experience their life, but they can experience it through this character and through these other characters in this world.
So, of course, Steph’s story wasn’t done with True Colors because of the DLC as well. How did you prepare for the Wavelength DLC and, more importantly, her survivor’s guilt?
I’m not a method actor. I just kind of dial in. It’s just about dialing into the emotion. I feel like that’s what really works for me. Like, whatever emotion I’m supposed to get into, like if I’m excited, just getting really frickin’ pumped and if I’m about to play a really sad moment, just sitting there and letting sadness fall over me.
So, are you driving to Kansas currently?
No! I wish I was. I wish I was. I wish I was driving to Kansas. I really do.
Do you think that Steph could quite easily now be the main character in the next instalment?
I don’t know. A part of me almost feels like they’re done, you know. She had her DLC. She’s got this amazing book. I could see her coming back as a cameo; I don’t know. I want her back at any point. I want her back so bad, and she’s come back so many times. I’m like, can she come back again?
Steph’s Story. The first prose novel in the franchise – what can you tell us about it and your experiences recording an audiobook?
This is Steph’s journey between Before The Storm and True Colors. We’re able, as readers, or listeners, to hear what she went through. It’s insane. I feel like people are going to read this book or listen to the audiobook and then play the game again, knowing just everything that’s going on in Steph’s mind. It’s like you’re reading a journal entry in one of the games, and you get to see what she’s gone through. She’s got a lot of sadness. She’s got a lot of trauma from Before The Storm that has been held up within her. It’s making it difficult for her to grow relationships and garner them. We get to see that journey when she dates Izzy, and it’s a really cool journey.
Being able to do the audiobook versus doing the game is very different. So, the writing is very, very different. That was something that I had to get used to because it’s a book, it’s a novel, It’s a completely different kind of writing. It still feels like Life Is Strange, but that was something that I had to get used to. Eventually, after a couple of pages, I fell right into it and made a home for it in my voice. And it felt very natural. It was exciting for me to read it like that. Then doing the audiobook itself, you’re just reading until you mess up. So it’s just very different, but I’m glad that I had that opportunity, and I hope I can do more audiobooks in the future.
As I’m reading the audiobook, like recording it, I’m just thinking in my head, oh my gosh, this is what she was thinking, you know, the entire time. It just gives us so much more.
What got you into live streaming on Twitch?
Before The Storm. Once the game came out, I was introduced to Twitch, and I didn’t know what it was. I didn’t know what was going on. And I just went live in my kitchen from my laptop and it just snowballed from there. I’ve been doing it for six years now.
And what is the life of a streamer like?
It is exhausting! I think a lot of people look at it, and now people realise that it’s a lot because a lot of streamers talk about how exhausting it is. But I think sometimes people just are like, oh, you sit there and play video games, or you just sit at a computer and talk to people on the Internet, and it’s like, oh my gosh, it’s so exhausting. And I do double streams. I’ll stream in the morning and at night some days. It’s great because I get to do my own schedule, I get to move things around, and I don’t have to answer to anybody. It’s just myself. Sometimes that can be a challenge because you have to figure out how to manage your time and be really good at it all by yourself because there’s nobody looking down on you. I love it. I have a wonderful community of people who have supported me for the last six years, and new people coming in every day. It just means the world to know all these people from all over the world are watching. It’s just a really unique job. I think about it all the time of how crazy this is. I would never have put myself in this position or seen myself doing this, but I’m so happy that I’m doing it.
How did you find it when you were starting out and in those early days of Twitch streaming, possibly to no one and setting it all up?
I was very lucky to have a boost from the fandom. I would be on Twitter, and tell people, and I already had 30 people in my stream, so I didn’t get to experience those struggles that many Twitch streamers do. A part of me feels guilty about it because people assume that everybody has had that experience! I was really lucky to have a small group of people come in and be there, ready to talk to me. I also watched a lot of YouTube when I was younger, so it was a world that I was familiar with, and younger Katy would have been like this is insane! This is what you wanted. I’m definitely really lucky to have had the Life Is Strange fandom to boost me. I had a friend at the time who helped me get going with different overlays and the tech side of it. I would have been lost, honestly! And I’m still lost when it comes to tech; I really am. It’s bad.
Katy Bentz on Twitch playing some CS:GO
You do a lot of variety content in your streams, but when you do play a game, what would you say has been the best game or the most fun game for you to stream in the last year?
The most fun game that I’ve played in the last year? As I go to my Twitch channel to look at my games played. Let’s see. Ooh, The Quarry was really fun. That was a fun game; I think, playing those campy horror games is really fun because you’re choosing your adventure. Most of the chat knows what’s going on too so everybody gets really excited. They get really into these characters. We could all fight for different characters we like. Actually, The Quarry might have been the best one in my recent streams. It’s so good. It’s supposed to be like a horror movie. It’s perfect. I loved it.
So, what’s been your most memorable fan interaction since you started?
I’m just going to collectively say the letters that I received. I have received tons and tons of letters over the last six years and numerous people telling me that this game has helped them with their identity. It’s helped them come out, to their friends, to their family. It’s saved their lives. Like legit. Like I’m reading a letter, and somebody was like, I didn’t think I’d be here this year, you know, or somebody was like, I didn’t think I’d ever be able to be open about who I was with my sexuality. I’m sitting on my floor just reading these letters and crying because it’s so precious and so vulnerable that somebody wants to share that with me. It’s also just really amazing that I had any part at all in their journey, to know that I’ve had a hand in helping to impact somebody’s life. So I’ll collectively say all the letters I’ve received over the years.
What’s next? What are you working on now, or what’s next? What are you allowed to tell us?
So the book [is out now]. I have a game coming out called Annie and the AI. Hopefully, that’ll be coming out in the next couple of months. I don’t have an actual date for that yet. Then I’m working on two other video games that should be coming out this year as well. I will be working on one at the end of this month. I can’t say those ones yet! A lot of voiceover stuff which is insane. I love it.
Does it feel different now to do voice acting for video games now you’re more immersed in that culture? Or is it still as novel and as exciting as it was right at the start?
I think it’s just as cool as the first time I did it, honestly! It’s just even cooler that I can have more opportunities. I just want more. I’ve heard my voice in one other video game. So, I’m excited for these other games to come out so I can hear my voice in those as well and see how it looks and everything.
What advice would you give to people who perhaps want to get into voice acting or get into Twitch streaming?
I think either one is a lot of research. I tell everybody all the time, Google is your best friend, and it really is on any of those; whether it’s voice acting or Twitch, you can find really great how-to and step-by-step guides. With acting, you have to realise that you’re going to be rejected. I’ve been rejected so many times, there’s so many times I get an audition, and I never hear anything back, like 98-99% of the time. That’s just how it is. You have to be okay with that. You can’t be sensitive, or you’re going to drown. Going on these websites, these submission websites like Actor’s Access or Casting Network or Casting Frontier or Backstage. Also, get yourself into a bigger hub like Los Angeles, Atlanta, New York, Toronto, and Vancouver.
With Twitch, just start. Google, search it, find a YouTube video to help you set up the beginning stages of it and then stream, don’t wait until it’s perfect because it’s never going to be perfect. Mine’s not perfect. And just stream. Try to figure out a game that you like and play that game. I can’t, as I said earlier, speak too much on what it’s like to stream to literally nobody, but if you have friends that can pop into your stream and your family just to give you something, somebody to talk to you, that could also be really helpful. Just knowing that again, it’s not going to happen overnight. It’s going to take long, and there will be a lot of ups and downs. I’ve had so many ups and downs in my streaming career. Lots of persistence for both voice acting and Twitch!
Finally, if you were to recommend one book, one game and one movie that every geek should consume, what would they be and why?
I hate this kind of question because it makes you think! Okay, I don’t read very often. I read self-help books, and I can’t even think of one… Steph’s Story.
My brain’s trying to think about what movies I watched which were impactful. I know there are so many, but I can’t think of them right now. I’m just going to say, one of my all-time favourite movies, 500 Days of Summer. I think everybody should play Hellblade. That is a great game that makes you have to think about your mental health, they put you in such an uncomfortable position with all the audio, the ASMR stuff. It’s such a cool game. Everybody should play that game.
Words of Wisdom from Katy Bentz on Twitch
Wondering where you can find Katy online? You can go join her awesome Twitch community, follow her on Twitter or take a look at Link Tree for more and, of course, go play all the Life Is Strange games!
Steph’s Story is available now at all good bookstores and as an audiobook too!
Eat, sleep, die, repeat! This has to be the motto for Ultra Pixel Survive. It is the latest in a long line of survival RPGs that have hit the indie market. However, this moreish and simple affair somehow keeps you playing even when you’ve died for the nth time! Moreover, with a range of characters at your disposal and some brutish creatures to defeat, this isn’t going to be an easy completion.
Developed by Gold Skull Studios and published by Ratalaika Games, this is a survival RPG. What’s more, there are elements of base building, some resource management, and a dungeon to explore. Furthermore, there is a day/night cycle to tackle and a plethora of angry monsters to endure when the moon rises. Yet, disappointingly, the developers haven’t added as much content as I would have liked and maybe this will hold it back.
Ultra Pixel Survive follows a familiar formula.
I like RPGs and adventure titles to have a strong plot. But, unfortunately, Ultra Pixel Survive has no story to mention. Furthermore, the vast array of characters has no backstory, and there is little to no lore to speak of. As such, it doesn’t play out like a traditional title from either genre. However, this doesn’t mean that it strays wildly from the path. No, instead, it follows a familiar gameplay model, and this was just fine by me.
The action opens with a low-level adventurer. This hero cannot be customised and is as weak as piss. Yet, he is armed with a sword and boomerang and dives right into the action. As the 1st day begins, you spawn outside of a house. This wooden shack forms the core of your base and no monsters dare to pass through the door. The aim of the game is to survive for as long as possible while killing wave after wave of nasty creatures. As each day rolls into night, the hordes become stronger and you’ll have to fortify your base if you wish to survive.
It is hammer time.
Exploration and gold.
Death is an all too familiar experience and you shouldn’t let this put you off. Instead, you should embrace the rogue-lite elements as you can improve your character at the beginning of each run. By picking up gold from every fallen monster, you’ll upgrade your hero, or unlock new characters. Furthermore, a chest is dropped at random and this contains gold and a red ruby. As such, the chests are vital, as both of these valuable commodities will unlock and improve new heroes.
Once you feel comfortable and you are strong enough, you can explore your compact surroundings. To your left is a desert/beach and to your right, you can enter a cave. Disappointingly, this is the extent of the exploration and this was frustrating. Moreover, there is little variation in the content of each area and this enhances any negative feelings. However, as you explore, you must hack down trees with your axe, destroy rocks with your pickaxe, and slay creatures with your sword. Each of these activities rewards you with resources and they are key to your success.
Welcome to your new home.
Building your base and upgrades.
Exploring your surroundings is essential. Yet protecting yourself, cooking food, upgrading equipment, and improving your base is important as well. As you undertake each journey, you’ll harvest grass, berries, corn, meat, wood, ore, stone, and much more. Each of these items can be used to build traps, walls, weapons, and campfires. What’s more, as you level up, you can improve your health, sword, pick, or axe. Alternatively, you can improve the health and attack prowess of each structure.
Accordingly, you must strike a balance between upgrading your hero and improving your base. Additionally, the traps are essential to slow down your foes whilst causing maximum damage. However, the monsters aren’t stupid, and they will attack your structures even if it means sacrificing their lives.
Alongside this, you can alter the way you tackle every playthrough. By unlocking each hero, you’ll arm yourself with new weapons, spells, and different strengths and weaknesses. Consequently, some of the characters are excellent at resource gathering, but they have low health and no strength. Alternatively, you’ll pick a powerhouse fighter who can’t gather goods for toffee. Accordingly, you must decide how you wish to play and pick a character to complement it.
Ultra Pixel Survive looks brilliantly pixelated.
The action is as rudimentary as the pixelated art style. This basic approach is similar to Terraria, and that was fine by me. The 2D visuals and side-scrolling navigation are easy-to-follow. What’s more, the sprites are interesting and the colours are earthy, dark, and oppressive. On top of this, the animation is smooth, and the UI is simple to navigate.
Ultra Pixel Survive has a familiar look, but this wasn’t a problem. If you love old-school pixelated games, then you’ll adore the selection of monsters on display. Furthermore, the lighting is excellent, and I liked how the day/night cycle altered the atmosphere. Additionally, the juxtaposition between the airy beach and the dank cave was fantastic. However, it’s a shame that the eerie nature of the cave wasn’t matched by the enemies you encounter.
The daunting atmosphere was enhanced thanks to the audio. As night falls, sinister music plays to add drama to the occasion. Alongside this, you’ll endure crunching blows from your sword. Alternatively, your axe thwacks against each tree and your pick thumps against every rock. Consequently, the noises are great but nothing more than I expected.
Visit the mine and get some ore.
Roll and attack!
Thanks to the simple concept, Ultra Pixel Survive is easy to play. However, a guide is available if you need any extra help. Alongside this, you are assisted by responsive inputs and a simple layout. Moreover, the excellent UI helps when you upgrade your equipment or improve your base.
Though much of the action is repetitive and there is a lack of depth and content, Ultra Pixel Survive is moreish. With plenty of heroes to unlock and never-ending hordes of monsters to battle, you’ll be kept busy. What’s more, you must adjust your approach depending on the strengths and weaknesses of each character. Subsequently, there is some replay value and longevity, despite the shortcomings.
Ultra Pixel Survive is a great casual title.
Pixelated titles are two a penny these days. However, I never tire of the retro art style. Thankfully, Ultra Pixel Survive’s old-school graphics help to make it a great casual title. Moreover, the unlockable heroes, base-building mechanics, and challenging monsters keep you coming back for more. However, a lack of environments, content, and missions prevents it from excelling. Despite these issues, I enjoyed it and I recommend that you buy it here! Can you survive every monstrous wave? Upgrade your character, improve your equipment, and take down everything you encounter.
